


you stay in my head, lay in my arms

by reystars



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cassian is constantly stressed about Jyn's wellbeing this is CANON, F/M, In a cave, One Shot, cuddling for survival purposes, in the cold, reluctant bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reystars/pseuds/reystars
Summary: Jyn and Cassian are stranded on Jedha after escaping the clutches of Saw Gerrera's mercenaries. As night falls the planet gets colder and they find a place to hide together. (Slight canon divergence, one shot, huddling together for Survival Purposes)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song "Stars" by Alessia Cara. It's the most Jyn/Cassian song ever. Help.

Night was falling on Jedha.

Cassian trekked through the sand, his large coat secured tightly around him, the pack of stolen things from Saw’s mercenaries strapped to his back. He kept glancing over at Jyn, watching as she took determined steps, her pack weighing her down more and more. But she wasn’t a quitter. Cassian admired her tenacity.

And he couldn’t stop glancing at her.

He kept thinking about how they’d escaped Saw’s men. As soon as Cassian had gotten the sack off of his head he’d desperately searched for Jyn, hoping to the Force that they hadn’t been separated. And there she was of course, having wriggled a weapon away and even with her hands cuffed she was knocking knees and smacking heads.

Chirruit and Baze had gone ahead and they’d gotten separated in the vast wasteland that was the outskirts of the holy city. Or at least, that’s what Cassian had hoped. With their vision blocked it had been impossible to tell which direction they had been dragged in, or which way the city was. Cassian had been able to somewhat push them in the right direction when he recovered his comm link, but there was so much interference that it’d been useless to try to get a hold of K-2SO.

As night was falling the planet would only get colder. Cassian grew up on a frigid planet, but he remembered from reading Jyn’s file that she’d lived most of her young life on a warm, humid one. Jedha was a dry, cold wasteland. He thought maybe giving her his coat would help, but if he froze to death he wouldn’t be much use to either of them.

They passed a few large, fallen structures before Cassian spotted a small cavern in one of them that could shield them from the wind. And any potential enemies.

“I think we should stop here for the night,” he said, indicating with his gloved hand. Jyn stopped walking and turned to see where he was indicating. She nodded.

“Jedha’s electro-magnetic field acts up at night,” he explained, walking toward the crevice. “The interference should be gone by morning and I will be able to comm K-2 then, but for now…” He shrugged. “We should get some rest.”

Jyn nodded again, glancing up at the sky.

“What a charming planet,” she said dryly, entering the crevice. It wasn’t very deep or wide, but they would be well hidden in there. Cassian followed. They both busied themselves rummaging through the packs they’d swiped from Saw’s men, pulling out anything that could be of use. Cassian was relieved to find some blankets. Jyn laid out a tarp she’d found over the sand and glanced up at Cassian, her face unreadable. He could see that she was already shivering despite her layers.

“Do you…” he hesitated, trying to choose his words carefully to not aggravate her or make her uncomfortable. “Do you want to sleep close? To stay warm?”

Jyn rubbed her nose absentmindedly and glanced back down at the makeshift sleeping space she’d been putting together. “Yeah, that’s probably smart.”

“I’ve had to do this on missions before,” he said quickly. “The best way to share warmth is to layer your clothes down and then surround yourself with as many layers as possible to keep the heat trapped in.”

Jyn nodded. She still wasn’t looking at him, gathering the blankets together and shifting things around to finish making a spot for them to sleep. Cassian finished rummaging through his pack too. He could already feel the chill of the planet biting into his bones. He saw that Jyn’s shivering was getting worse, her hands shaking as she set a blanket down and started peeling off her gloves, hat, scarf, and coat. She piled them up at the top of the blanket to use as a pillow and Cassian followed suit, the cold getting worse with every layer he took off. His long sleeved shirt and pants had seemed hot on Yavin IV but they seemed incredibly flimsy now. Jyn wrapped her arms around herself, even though she was wearing a long sleeved shirt and long pants too, she hurried to lay down. Cassian followed suit, resting his head on his own makeshift pillow.

They both pulled the blankets up as quickly as they could, trying to keep warm. Jyn stayed on her back, staring at the ceiling of the cave. The inch between them seemed charged with electricity. Cassian could barely make out her face in the starlight, but he could see that her eyes were open. The piece of hair that always escaped her bun was trailing down her makeshift pillow and Cassian fought the urge to reach out and touch it. Why did he want to do that?

“It would probably keep us both warmer if I wrapped an arm around you,” Cassian said, just above a whisper. It was a half lie. It was a way to keep _her_ warmer, the cold on his back was something Cassian could handle, being from an icy planet.

Jyn inhaled, her mouth opened slightly like she was about to say something. Then she shut it. She rolled over, her back facing him.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “That’s fine.”

Cassian reached an arm around her carefully, barely touching her. He wrapped his arm around her stomach and delicately pulled her closer, curving his body to wrap her with more warmth. Already he could feel the difference in heat, and he was surprised to find that he was glad she was there. He hoped she could not feel his heart pounding in his chest, resting against her back.

She was so much shorter than him that her head was nestled under his chin, the tiny pieces of hair escaping from her bun ticking his neck. He could tell from her breathing that she wasn't asleep yet. He almost jumped when he heard her speak.

"Do you think Saw Gerrera will still be willing to speak to us after we escaped his men?" she asked, quietly. There was the other, unvoiced question. Had Cassian ruined their chances by shooting the rebel back in the city? He wanted to cringe thinking about it, but he felt no regret. Jyn's life had been at stake.

"I still think," he said, his voice low, "That Saw will be willing to speak with you. If we approach him in the right way."

He felt Jyn tense under his arm. When she didn't say anything, Cassian ventured to speak again.

"What is it?" he whispered.

It took her so long to respond that Cassian wondered if she'd fallen asleep.

"Saw Gerrera abandoned me when I was sixteen," she said. There was bitterness and anger in her voice, but she mostly just sounded tired.

And the unspoken: she never wanted to see him again. Cassian suddenly felt a deep understanding and empathy for her. She'd been a fighter ever since she was young, just like he had been. He didn't blame her for hating Saw. He could imagine how he'd feel if the Rebel Alliance had abandoned him in that way. In fact, he didn't need to imagine, he could see it right in front of him.

"You're doing the right thing, Jyn," Cassian responded. "We're going to find the pilot, and find your father."

She didn't respond, but he felt her breathing even out and her body relax slightly. Cassian held her, but he couldn't even bring himself to close his eyes, his orders from Yavin IV haunting him. He knew that when he followed through with the task he was given that Jyn would hate him. She would never be able to look at him again. It twisted his stomach in a way now that it hadn't before.

He knew that when he killed Galen Erso, the Rebel Alliance would be abandoning Jyn just like Saw had.

When he was confident that Jyn was asleep, Cassian adjusted and wrapped his other arm around her, both arms holding her close and tight. Jyn would hate him soon, but for now he could let himself be there for her. He could let himself embrace her and pretend like that meant nothing to him. 

Jyn rolled over in her sleep, tucking her head down, her nose and lips brushing Cassian's neck, her hands tucked against his chest. Cassian kept his arms around her, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.

 


End file.
